I think my insurance is trying to defraud me

Senior Member

I reported a suspected leak in my house to insurance company a few weeks ago. There was a constant water pipe sound coming from a wall containing some plumbing.

They sent a plumber out who advised that there was probably a leak but it had to be detected by another company. So I had to file a claim & pay an excess before the leak detecting company came out.

They confirmed a leak & came back a few days later to start work. They hacked away part of a floor & wall over a few days.

Then things got a bit strange. The leak detection people said that the 'leak fixed itself', while my insurer said that the report said that 'a pipe was fixed'.

In the meantime an assessor came around & they started making arrangements to fix up all damage.

Last week some cabinet people came to replace some cupboards that had water damage from the leak. In the process of the work they had to turn the water mains off for a while to do some associated plumbing.

As soon as they left we noticed that the water pipe sound was back. It was coming from the same area as previously. I reported it to my insurer and they sent the somebody out from the same leak detection company. The guy reported that there was still a leak.

That was a week ago. Now, despite numerous 'phonecalls & emails, they're just completely ignoring me. Meanwhile the leak just keeps flowing. At one stage somebody from the insurer said that I 'had to file a new claim'. I didn't think much of it when they said it, but now I think they want me to pay another excess for a new claim. Either that, or they don't want to take responsibility for failing to fix the leak the in the first place.

Where do I go from here? I know there's an insurance ombudsman, but that type of thing usually takes ages. I just feel like calling another company to finish the whole job properly, & then sending the bill to my insurer, or suing them for the costs.

Honorary Master

On their website there is a compliance officers details. Send the details to them and to the claims department.

If, and it probably is, from the original pipe then insist you will not be paying another excess and in fact that they need to fix their initial repair job which obviously wasn't done properly.

Also seriously consider working through a broker as this would be their mess to sort out. And don't believe you pay more for the same policy through a broker because you don't. If your insurer doesn't work through brokers then there is one of the problems already.

Executive Member

Who's going to pay for the water that has been lost? This is something that people often overlook. Last year during the water crisis in Cape Town when the top domestic tariff for water was sitting at R1000 per kiloliter, even a small undetected leak could result in a water bill of tens or even hundreds of thousands of rands. Not all home insurance policies will pay for that lost water.

Honorary Master

Who's going to pay for the water that has been lost? This is something that people often overlook. Last year during the water crisis in Cape Town when the top domestic tariff for water was sitting at R1000 per kiloliter, even a small undetected leak could result in a water bill of tens or even hundreds of thousands of rands. Not all home insurance policies will pay for that lost water.

Psychonaut seven

Honorary Master

I reported a suspected leak in my house to insurance company a few weeks ago. There was a constant water pipe sound coming from a wall containing some plumbing.

They sent a plumber out who advised that there was probably a leak but it had to be detected by another company. So I had to file a claim & pay an excess before the leak detecting company came out.

They confirmed a leak & came back a few days later to start work. They hacked away part of a floor & wall over a few days.

Then things got a bit strange. The leak detection people said that the 'leak fixed itself', while my insurer said that the report said that 'a pipe was fixed'.

In the meantime an assessor came around & they started making arrangements to fix up all damage.

Last week some cabinet people came to replace some cupboards that had water damage from the leak. In the process of the work they had to turn the water mains off for a while to do some associated plumbing.

As soon as they left we noticed that the water pipe sound was back. It was coming from the same area as previously. I reported it to my insurer and they sent the somebody out from the same leak detection company. The guy reported that there was still a leak.

That was a week ago. Now, despite numerous 'phonecalls & emails, they're just completely ignoring me. Meanwhile the leak just keeps flowing. At one stage somebody from the insurer said that I 'had to file a new claim'. I didn't think much of it when they said it, but now I think they want me to pay another excess for a new claim. Either that, or they don't want to take responsibility for failing to fix the leak the in the first place.

Where do I go from here? I know there's an insurance ombudsman, but that type of thing usually takes ages. I just feel like calling another company to finish the whole job properly, & then sending the bill to my insurer, or suing them for the costs.